


Up in Arms

by aeitric



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Babysitter!Eren, M/M, Oneshot?, Sort of sad, mikasa is a precious child, who knows anymore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 19:25:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4973200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeitric/pseuds/aeitric
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren hates kids.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Up in Arms

Eren knocked on the door in front of him, using the flat bottom of his palm. The fight earlier with Jean ended up with even sorer knuckles than Eren had anticipated. When Levi opened the door, his eyes flicked to the scabs crossing his Eren's hands but said nothing. Eren stepped inside and peeled his shoes off, setting them in the closet. Levi had clearly stated in the advertisement Eren read online that he would not deal with someone below his standards clean wise. The boy was determined to not screw up this time.

Levi's house was beautiful, rich dark wood framing glass windows and spotless white furniture. Eren wondered if Levi even had a child the age he said he did. The slobber monsters Eren had dealt with in the past wouldn't be able to help spilling some sort of grape based drink on the pristine white couch. Levi motioned to the dining room and Eren followed him, eyes trained straight forwards at the black undercut swaying in front of him. Levi was more attractive than Eren had anticipated, but he wasn't exactly his type. He was cool and collected, and short. Eren liked someone that was like Jean, hot headed and thoughtless. They had dated for two years a while ago, but fought for longer. They fought in the kitchen, the bathroom, the bed, they fought every time they got the chance.

Two years wasn't very long, but the way Jean bickered like a child seemed to make the time drag. Eren and Jean were friends now, but the relationship was constantly strained by Jean's tendency to act like a toddler and Eren's lack of temper for it. It didn't help that even his face made Eren angry, the long chin and drawn out cheekbones made him look like a farm animal, and not even a cute one. Like a pig, or a sheep. Like a horse.

Eren fought over his train of thought and sat down directly across from Levi, his chair squeaking loudly as he drew it out from under the table. Levi flinched and Eren contorted his features in a sort of apologetic look and sat down. The cool metal of the seat made the taller boy shiver. He crossed his hands together, lacing long fingers into each other. Levi watched his movements like a hawk, predatory and dangerous. When he spoke, Eren fought the tremble that threated to shake his legs.

"Why are your hand so," Levi spun a gaunt hand around. His fingers must have been mostly bone. "Beaten?" He put his palm flat against the table, long nails echoing a click as they met the glass under them.

"Because I hit someone." Eren responded smoothly. It would be of no use for him to lie now, so he might as well tell Levi the truth. Eren waited for the look of disgust, that he, a mature human being with good control of his bodily functions, would ever dare to lay his hand upon another person. Instead, Levi laughed with pure good nature. Strands of hair that were tucked behind Eren's ear fell out as his eye widened in surprise. "You seem like a good kid, so I figure it was for good reason." Levi's voice was like rocks, rough and calloused like he spent every night screaming. Eren recognized it because it was like his when he dated Jean, constantly yelling and crying about some dish or a toothbrush out of place.

It reminded him of Jean, but not really. With Levi it was different. "I guess you could say that. My friend got really drunk last night and he was going to attack some guy in the bar we were hanging out in, so I stepped in and I punched him. Then I drove him home and tucked him into bed." Eren tried to keep the story short, not mentioning how the bar's name was Trost. Trost was known for holding all sorts of people, but mostly just sad people. People that had lost everything they ever acquired or even people that never had anything at all would go to just have a cheap drink and sometimes cry or sometimes hook up.

"Nice. Would you like to meet Mikasa?" Ah. The booger factory. Eren could hardly wait to meet the child. Levi had mentioned what a good child she was, but didn't every parent say that about their kid? Eren smiled unnaturally wide, nodding all the same. It was a move that always worked on the single moms of the children Eren looked after before. The only thing that mattered to him was that it got him paid more, the women always "tipping" him and asking for dinner the next Friday night. Presumably because Fridays were the only nights they could get away from the snot rags. Eren hated the kids, he hated the mothers and he hated his job.

He, however, didn't hate the pay.

Levi called Mikasa down, and Eren waited to meet a sloppily dressed and dirty brat. However, when Mikasa stepped out into the hall Eren was happily shocked. She resembled Levi in her jet black hair and stone cold glare, expression flat and lips pressed into a flat line. A pale pink dress covered her ankles, a darker pink sweater thrown over it. It was a regal and dignified look considering the short monsters Eren had seen before, who cried over having to put on a shirt. She strode over to the table and sat next to Levi.

"This is Eren?" Her voice was flat and toneless. It was one of the few differences Eren could point out between Mikasa and Levi. The shorter man nodded in her direction, and Mikasa snuffed quietly. She looked over Eren in what he could only explain as her looking into his soul, finding what she was searching for. Mikasa slid down from the chair and ambled away. Levi watched her and smiled lightly to himself, but Eren caught it. "She likes you. You'll do okay, presumably."

"Are you sure she's eight? The mucus rocket blasters her age I've babysitted before would have to be strapped into a chair and beaten before they would be that quiet. And trust me, I've considered it." Eren shook his head in disbelief. Levi's laughter was back, full heartedly this time. It was like grey storm clouds and rain against concrete and Eren was falling considerable fast. "She's mature for age. Too mature." Levi ended the last sentence with a tiny sad smile, his eyes screaming pain. Eren didn't mention it.

"I presume that means I've got the job?"

"I presume it does."

 

* * *

 

 

The next few weeks weren't awful for Eren. Between studying and babysitting, chatting with Mikasa and awkward greetings with Levi, Eren was doing alright. However, something felt... off. The night it happened, rain was pounding on the wide windows of Levi's home. Mikasa was next to Eren on the couch, shaking in fear. Either it was because of the scary movie they were watching, or the lighting that periodically flashed in the room. Eren knew that Mikasa hated when someone else saw her anything besides dignified, so he excused himself to go to the bathroom.

Eren wandered the halls, shuffling around on the carpet, waiting until Mikasa calmed herself down. He really liked babysitting the kid, she appeared quiet at first but as it turns out she had a lot to say. Talking with her was like talking to Armin. Armin was one of Eren's friends in school and a fellow babysitter. When Eren introduced the two, they hit it off imminently and Armin agreed that if Eren wasn't available one of the days Eren cared for Mikasa, Armin would step in for him.

Eren ended up strolling into Levi's room, snooping through his books. There were a few about space, another few about psychology. But, tucked in between "Off the Grid" and "Unbecoming", Eren spied a tiny stack of photos lodged directly between on the second highest shelf. Against his own better judgement, Eren yanked the pictures out.

The first was Mikasa, sitting on a swing, smiling widely. However, she was blonde. Her hair was a light yellow that flew behind her, and she was smiling widely. Her eyes were still light grey but they were wider, not squinted like Levi's, or like they were now. She wore a pair of dirty shorts and a loose shirt that had the name of some school printed out on it - "Maria Elementary" - a school that Eren didn't recognize. Eren had babysitted for years and had never heard of one Maria Elementary, so it must have been far away.

The second was Levi next to a blonde man with light blue eyes, strong cheekbones and a wide pearly smile. Levi looked grumpy but his eyes held an unfamiliar to Eren look, happiness. The blonde man's arm was thrown onto Levi's shoulder. The other arm couldn't be seen. Eren moved on to the next picture.

The third was Mikasa again, but it was different. She looked afraid. The background was nothing but black, forcing the spotlight on Mikasa's sweat and dirt covered face. Her hair was no longer blonde but black, the color Eren had gotten used to. Although her facial features seemed scared, her eyes screamed pure anger, unfiltered rage that shone through her irises. The pictures, all of them, made Eren scared. What secrets did this house hold?

He put the pictures back and was about to exit when the doorknob began to turn.


End file.
